Fiat Chrysler exports from Brazil to Mexico after more than 3 years

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has resumed exports from Brazil to Mexico after a more than three-year hiatus due to weak Brazilian demand and a more favorable exchange rate, Cledorvino Belini, chief executive officer in Latin America, said on Monday.

Belini said Fiat's last significant exports of Brazilian cars to Mexico were 15,000 vehicles in 2010. He forecast that Brazil's currency, the real, which has shed 12 percent this year to 2.68 per dollar, would hit 2.80 per dollar in 2015.

A weaker currency increases the value of goods sold outside the country.

That could further shift the dynamics of bilateral auto trade between Latin America's two biggest economies. As recently as 2012, Brazil forced Mexico to cap its vehicle exports as a strong real and overheating Brazilian economy led to a glut of cheaper Mexican cars heading south.

Now a sharp slowdown has carmakers in Brazil, still one of the world's five biggest auto markets, pushing for more open borders as they look for outlets to avoid overcapacity in the South American powerhouse.

Belini reiterated his expectations for flat sales in Brazil in 2015, with little recovery from an 8 percent drop this year.